Memories of the Eldest
by DeusExTranshuman
Summary: The World of Earth Bet has seen may horrors, many abominations and many acts of petty murder. For the optimistic, this might mean that they had seen everything that could be feared. For the cynical, there would forever exist more. They were right, and their world now plays host to the Eldest. (Warning: Grimdark/derp and Sex in equal measures.)


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, this is purely for recreational purposes.

**AN:** Hello all! As you might have noticed, rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated, at least, on this site. Sorry about not posting anything here, but my muse was being a right pain and dragged my attention elsewhere with ideas I didn't think many would enjoy reading on this site. Still, this was a recent idea of mine that I thought could be posted here. I'm also cross-posting it on QQ, so people can find it there, if they want to read it as well.

Anyway, sorry about the long silence, but here is hoping this might make up for it a bit. Though, I make no promises going forwards, if only because my available time to write isn't all that plentiful.

Still, enjoy!

**XXX**

_Pain..._

_Cold..._

_Dark..._

_Still..._

_Silent..._

_Can't Feel..._

_... Star..._

_Stars..._

_Light..._

_Bright..._

_Very Bright..._

_Nerves..._

_On Edge..._

_Sound..._

_Fight or Flight..._

_Words..._

_Fear..._

_Awe..._

_Horror..._

_Hope..._

_Agreement..._

_Too Bright..._

_"Entertain me, Mortal."_

_Terror..._

Eyes snapped open in an instant, going from the realm of dreams to the waking world in no time flat. The world snapped into focus as I sat up bolt-straight as the bed covers that had previously concealed me went flying. I barely paid them any mind as my heart hammered away inside my chest, eyes searching for a threat of any description as chemicals rushed through my body in what I knew to be an instinctive response to... Whatever the hell _that_ was. Even as my eyes scanned over the rest of the room, my mind kept replaying the same murky images and... Sensations, for lack of a better term, in combinations that followed on from my last clear memory. Said memory only seemed to add more confusion to things...

Especially since it was a memory of a speeding lorry running into the Driver side door of my car, with me in the Driver's seat, and dying in the process. At least, I'd assume such was the case, considering that I highly doubted much of me would have remained intact enough for any Doctor to have a chance in hell of bringing back to the land of the living, no matter how good said Doctor might have been.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm myself, I took a few more when that failed, trying to force some semblance of calm onto myself as I swung my legs around and let my feet touched the floor. Hands went to the mattress of the bed, holding it as I sat at the edge and looked down at my own legs as my feet pressed into the felt carpet under my feet, causing me to frown slightly as oddities suddenly sprung out at me. Moving a foot slightly, I felt the carpet under my foot change, but the effect what I could feel through just skin contact alone was something that definitely drove home the point that something _very_ weird was going on. Again, I shifted my right foot slightly to one side, keeping it in contact with the carpet for a moment longer as I mentally picked over the sensory input and felt amazed as I counted individual points of contact. Each point of contact felt like a small, elongated oval with two sets of them running through one another, perpendicular to each other and formed into neat ranks that slide through each other in an alternating pattern. I smiled slightly at that, hysteria creeping into the back of my mind as I absently guessed that I was feeling each individual thread that was woven through each other to form the carpet under my feet.

The sudden awareness caused other aspects to leap out at me, such as the elastic waistband of my boxers, the fabric of my boxers and my hands touching the mattress covers that I currently sat on. Running a hand over the bed, I absently counted the different threads that ran one way or another as the shear impossibility of the situation hit me all at once. Pulling my hand from the bed, I couldn't help but notice just how steady the limb was even as I held it out in front of me and exampled it like an idle curiosity, equally aware of how much it different from my... _Pre_-Death memories. Thin, but well toned with whip-cord-like muscles, the arm gave an impression of muscles being present from being _used_, rather than from being _trained_. Looking down at myself, I could see more of the same as I felt numb as a curious finger poked at the defined muscles that currently played over my abs and chest.

Turning my attention back to the bed below me, I felt slightly less surprised when I could pick out each thread in intricate detail, noting where it threaded either under or over another thread and could follow a singular thread from one end of the bed to another with an inhuman ease, not even caring for the near-total darkness I sat in. A bark of numb bemusement left my lips at that thought, the idea of my own inhumanity coming back as I considered the simple fact that I had died, and yet, was still alive. The inky clouds that shrouded everything between those two points didn't help, but I'd have thought such things would just highlight that _something_ had happened that had definitely changed me.

However, the thoughts of that missing gap quickly left me as I heard the sound of soft, feather-light footsteps on a carpeted floor that caused my head to flick round towards the source of the sound, even if it was on the other side of a wall. Eyes tracked each step as dull shock and amazement flared through the back of my mind in equality, aware this was yet another difference as I heard a light switch be flicked and saw light pour through the gaps in the only door to the room I now sat in. A moment later, and I was looking directly at the door itself as the doorknob turned and allowed the entire barrier to slide to one side on slightly squeaky hinges, letting me see the individual beyond. Light flared behind said individual, making it impossible for me to immediately see the details, but I could pick out generalities well enough to see that my visitor was female, young and well muscles. Looking back at my visitor an instant later, I could make out the barest hints of her face and seeing that her own eyes were locked with mine, focused on me and seemingly swimming with an emotion that I wasn't immediately able to interpret as her lips moved.

"Brother...?"

The voice was as smooth as silk and sweeter than honey, but it carried a hint of concern to it that was surprising, considering that I was reasonably sure I'd never met this woman in my entire life. Of course, I didn't get much of a chance to really think about it, having just finished processing my initial observations of her voice before what she had said truly registered. She had called me her brother, something that was impossible, since I was pretty damned sure I didn't have any siblings to call a brother or sister. My jaw dropped as the muscles holding it closed went limp and my mind tried to process this latest revelation to my world view. The memories of death and this encounter circled in a restless sea of emotions that offered no respite as pain flared through my head. An instant past and the pain grew as I struggled to figure out some method to react. The experience was novel, though, since it gave me insight into what people must have felt when they 'Blue-screened', even if the pain was unpleasant.

Fortunately, it was short-lived, as my brain finally decided that it couldn't process this at the current time and make the executive decision that this shit could be put off until a later date. As such, consciousness left me a heartbeat later and I felt my body slump backwards into the bed behind me, with my last physical sensations being the press of fabric against bare skin and the sounds of movement from the woman that was apparently my new sister.

And then, I was back in the realm of Morpheus...

**XXX**

The return to the waking world was quick, like a light switch being flicked as my eyes flickered open and I leaned up. Memories of my previous experience coming back to me as I did so, a hand holding my head as I used the other to hold myself up and to think as eyes roved over the room I now found myself in. Without a fight-or-flight response screaming in my ears and demanding to _move_, I found myself able to see the details in the room that I had previously missed as my mind and body searched for any kind of danger. One of the first things that immediately came to mind was the simple fact that the curtains for the room were now open, and light was pouring in from the outside world. Half the room was filled with the dull light of the sun as it filtered through an overcast sky that seemed to stretch into the distance above the building on the opposite side of the street. The windows themselves were on the other side of the room from me, with the foot of my bed being in line with the door, and leaving my bed wedged into a corner with a table to one side and a wall to the other. Beyond those immediate items of note, the only other things to really talk about was the office chair in front of the table and a cupboard by one side of the door. Aside from that, the room was barren of any real decorations or furnishings, painted in a near-uniform sky blue on the walls, while the ceiling was painted white and a cream-ish felt carpet to cover the floor. It was barren of any individuality, but it was better than a fair number of people in some countries lived with on a day-to-day basis, so I really didn't have any real reason to complain about it.

Shifting slightly, I glanced down at the table to my side, noting the cloak that flickered away as I watched, a digital display going through the twenty-four hour cloak as it happily displayed that it was seventeen minutes after one in the afternoon. Seeing that, I groaned slightly as I leaned back into the bed, pulling the covers over me once more as I tried to ignore the returning sensation of every thread pressing against my skin. It proved surprisingly easy, but only served to add yet another question to the every growing pile of 'what the _fuck_ is going on?!'.

Memories of last night and the lorry fluttered through my mind's eye even as I stared up at the blank ceiling, in the hopes that some divine intervention might come and grant me some kind of epiphany. No such thing came, leaving me to stare for another two minutes before turning my attention elsewhere in the hopes that answers might arrive. Then again, the fact that I was alive, with a full recollection of dying, and now had a sister that I sure as hell didn't remember ever having, all pointed to _something_ happening. Immediately, the thought I was in some kind of coma-induced fever dream came and went, discarded as being unlikely for the simple reason that doubted I would have survived the crash in the first place. The lorry had been going too fast, with too heavy a load, and with nowhere near enough space to break. There was just no chance of _that_ happening, especially with the kind of luck I usually lived with.

That left... What...? Reincarnation? Divine Intervention of one kind or another? Eldritch machinations? Some kind of soul-mind illusion as part of a personalized Limbo or Purgatory? No sudden realization came to me, so I was left to guess at the how and why of the new reality that I faced.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming from beyond the door to the room, followed by the door to the room swinging open to allow a single individual through the passage way. Said individual was the same one from last night, the same woman that I remembered calling me 'Brother' before everything faded to little more than a blanket of darkness. Instantly, my eyes skimmed over her body as I took in details that darkness, chemicals and ancient instincts had made me miss, the most immediate of them being the tray of food that she carried between her hands. The smell hit me a second later, reminding me of the Heinz Tomato soup that had once been a favorite meal of mine, but with a far more potent texture to it then I could ever remember. Slices of bread to one side of the bowl of steaming soup and what looked like a cup of either tea or coffee, making me hope for the latter, since the extra kick in the ass to get moving would definitely be appreciated. An absent thought caused me to look back up at the woman as my eyes tracked her face, immediately aware of how long I had been looking over the tray of food before I felt myself mentally recoil as I mentally added 'accelerated reaction and mental processing speeds' to the growing list of things that seemed to have changed.

If the woman noticed my surprise, then she said nothing as she continued to advance into the room with a smile on her face as my eyes took in her form. A quick geusstimite put her around five foot eleven and under twenty years old, her body built from well toned cords of muscles that did nothing to detract from a figure that would probably have left others of a similar age in shame. Certainly, her choice in attire only helped to hammer that point home, since the skin tight jeans and tight, low-cut crop top that showed off just how well developed she was. Once more, if the woman noticed me looking at the way her hips swayed just a little with every step, or staring at her generous chest, then she offered no sign of it as she walked deeper into the room before addressing me as she came close.

"It is good to see that you are awake, Brother. How are you feeling? Thirsty? Hungry?" She asked as she placed the tray on the table and pulled the seat out, sitting on it as she moved a bit closer to the side of the bed and leaning forwards. A glance at the food made me think she probably already knew, but I didn't immediately voice the thought as I turned back to her and found myself looking into emerald green eyes that swam with emotions and meanings that I couldn't immediately identify. Sharp features softened slightly as they pointed in my direction and elegant eyebrows came together in what, I guessed, was some equivalent of concern. A movement of one of her hands caught my attention, causing me to take not of her ears as tucked a stray lock hair behind her ear, preventing it from getting in the way while the rest of her dark red hair was bound into a tight, braided pony tail that she seemed to wear like a scarf. Even wrapped twice or thrice around her neck, what was left to hang free still came down to her waist at the very least.

"... Confused, a bit hungry, but confused for the most part. Especially since, last time I checked, I didn't have a sister." I answered after a heartbeat passed and a bit of deadpan leaking into my tone, still marveling at just what might have happened to me as I made guesses and mental comments at a rate that seemed far faster than I was used to. In response to my words, the woman merely nodded as she reached around, grabbing the tray and bringing it over before placing it on the bed, over my lap as legs feel into position and let the small tray act like a miniature table.

"Then allow me to explain, but first, can you tell me what you can remember before waking up here?" The woman asked, giving me a moment to prop myself up with the pillows behind me before I looked up from the tray in front of me. This close, the smell was a potent and heady thing that floated around the room as steam floated from the surface of, what was clearly, tomato soup with a cup of the familiar black liquid that helped so much if I needed to get moving in a hurry. Taking a quick sip, I thought about what I could actually remember as I wondered just what kind of answers I was in store for.

"Driving my car home. Getting hit by a speeding lorry. What I _think_ was me dying before a large gap in my memory filled with nothing but a few general impressions. Then waking up here, followed by fainting, followed by waking up again and then having this conversation. Though, I get the distinct impression that I'm missing out a few things, especially since I don't appear to be dead." I remarked after listing off a general overview of my memories as I watched the woman's face for any expressions or tells that might give some hint as to what I had found myself in. Instead, she merely nodded as my recollections finished before leaning back in her conscripted chair for a second, seemingly in deep thought before turning back to me.

"I believe the best place to start would be with the collision you mentioned. More specifically, that you _did_ die at that point. You were hit side-on by a lorry pushing sixty in a thirty zone that didn't see you due to the way the sun was setting as the driver had turned the corner. He was apparently running behind on a delivery and needed to drive faster than was technically legal, as a result, he missed the exit you were coming out of and collided with you hard enough to render your body into little more than chunks of meat along with crushing a majority of the car via kinetic energy being transferred from one object to another." It was not the answer I had been expecting, and certainly not to that amount of detail, but I honestly didn't know what to think as I heard the full explanation of my own death and the causes behind it. Dull numbness at the back of my mind was the only sensation I registered as I'd already become a bit desensitized to shock and surprise at this point, especially after my last wake up. Still, I nodded, accepting the explanation and gesturing to the woman to continue her tale as I took another sip of coffee and enjoyed the lack of milk or sugar.

"And then?" I prompted as she smiled, displaying a mouth full of pearly white teeth that seemed subtly different, something not quite being as it should be even as I examined them for a moment before pushing them to one side.

"And then your soul was caste into the Aether, where it attracted the attention of a... Being. Not a god, such a term is too small and constricting for what this singular being was capable of, but it might be the closest fit that you could find in the any Human language. This being was neither malevolent nor benign, indifferent to the affairs of lesser beings. However, when it found your soul, it was suffering from a singular emotion that it wished to be rid of, if only because it wished to introduce an unknown variable into various Reality Strata and then watch as new and unexpected events unfolded. Put simply, the being was bored and wished to be entertained after always knowing how existence would unfold before it for a length of time beyond mortal reckoning." I couldn't help it, hearing that explanation, I couldn't help the snort of incredulity that escaped me, nor the way my facial muscles twitched and raised my eyebrow without any conscious thought. It all sounded like something out of a badly written fanfiction...

Well, if so, could you at least make sure the spelling and grammar is coherent, Mr., assuming you're male, Author? Maybe even throw me a bone every now and then? Thank you.

"You're saying that I got yanked... By a bored Random Omnipotent Being...?" I couldn't help but ask, ignoring the previous breach of the fourth wall as I looked at the woman, who nodded at my affirmation. "... Ok, then I'm going to guess that we, me and this BROB, had some kind of discussion, right?"

"Yes, there was a negotiation between you and the Being to see what tools the Being was willing to grant you in exchange for upsetting the status quo of the predicted timeline. From what little I am aware of, you managed to haggle a number of things from the Being under specific justifications and conditions that I was not informed of. Though, I am very aware of the results of the completed negotiations and the pact that was sealed between you and the Being." The woman paused for a moment, seemingly collecting her thoughts on how to say something and making me curious about what was to be said. "... One of those results was my creation."

My arm stopped mid-motion to my lips as my hand suddenly grasped my cup of coffee in a death grip, yet amazingly not managing to break the ceramic cup. My mind came to a screeching halt as I heard those words, trying to understanding how I was responsible for the creation of a woman that now claimed to be my _Sister!_ I mean, intellectually, I could see it being possible for something that could grab me after death and then throw me into another world being capable of such a feat, but knowing and seeing the results of something were two different things entirely. It also didn't help that a slowly growing voice at the back of my head was whispering that what she said was true. Not even guess or using a gut feeling, but _knowing_ that what she said was true. It was a feeling that I struggled to deal with as I fell back on the method that I'd used at points in my life: Compartmentalization. Quickly, I shoved this new knowledge in a mental box, along with the sudden whispers of my potential insanity, and threw them aside after slapping the mental equivalent of a 'later' sign on it all before I signed.

"What...?" The single word was all I was really able to manage as my brain slowly rebooted. The woman merely offered a shrug of one shoulder as she smiled at me, seemingly unfazed by the way I was taking this revelation and then continuing on as though it was only as interesting or as important as the weather.

"My creation was a part of one of the requests that you managed to slip out of the Being in exchange for serving as entertainment. Through haggling with the Being, you managed to acquire a boons with several coming in the form of knowledge and new physical capabilities. Since a number of these capabilities would be beyond that of a baseline Human, you requested the addition of a 'Training Assistant' to allow you to learn the skills necessary to be as entertaining as possible as quickly as possible. Though, from what I know, the Being took the concept, expanded on it and added some twists to it and created me as a result, while using part of your altered essence as a base so as to ensure some kind of familial connection, hence brother and sister. Or, more accurately, half-siblings." The woman, my newly created half-sister, explained as I idly wondered just what the hell my life was going to become in the coming days, trying to make heads or tails of the insanity that was sure to come if the BROB that put me here had decided that turning an idea for a 'Training Assistant' and using it as an excuse to give me a sister was a prime source of entertainment in itself.

Absorbing that latest piece of information, I found myself less shocked as I lowered the coffee back to the tray, noting that the soup had lost its heat since our conversation had dragged on for a time. I didn't really mind all that much, assuming that my new place of residence had a microwave, the soup could be reheated and I could have it after out discussion finished. Still, this new information brought new questions to mind as I worked through the surprise and numbness that still lingered from other questions and statements, the explanation of my own death being one example.

"... Ok then... You said you were originally created as a kind of training assistant, right? Then, what exactly would you have been? Be? Training me on? How would you be training me? How would you be keeping ahead of me, assuming that we both have access to the same information at the same rate? How would the information be accessed? Where, exactly, did the boons and information originally come from? As in, the original source material?" I asked as the questions came to mind, spitting out a hail of them that didn't phase my new sister in the slightest. If anything, she seemed almost pleased that I was asking her so many questions, while considering my words carefully and didn't bother hiding that as she sat up in her seat with her arms clasped and her posture straight. Though, the position of her arms did draw the eye to her chest, if only because she seemed to inadvertently push them out with her back straightened and biceps pressing in on them from either side.

"For one thing, yes, I will still be training you in the use of your boons, since that was the primary reason for my creation, though, I am thankful for the fact I can become more than that. As for what is to be covered by the Training itself? That depends entirely upon what you wish to focus on. Admittedly, some things do require the assistance of another to truly make progression beyond the purely theoretical knowledge, martial arts styles and armed melee combat being two such examples. Other things, however, you can learn on your own, so long as you are patient and take the time to master each level as they become known to you as time passes. As you master more knowledge, more such knowledge will flow into your mind in greater and greater quantities. As a part of this, I was created with a higher knowledge base encoded into my essence, so that I can train you effectively even as both of us progress beyond subjects restricted to the mere basics. As for the source of these boons? I have not delved too deeply into the histories granted by this knowledge, but the species that they were crafted from called itself the Aeldari." My new Sister explained simply as I nodded along, doing my best to mentally engrave the information for later, right up until I heard what the source of the boons was.

Being a fan of Warhammer 40k, the original name of the Eldar was instantly recognizable and made me wonder just what kind of compromises I might have made just to ensure that I got that very knowledge and the boons. Immediately, I considered the idea of just asking my new sister about what she knew about any such terms beyond the ones that led to her creation, but decided that such a discussion could take place at a later date, since I already had enough on my metaphorical plate at the moment, and I was in no hurry to add even more bombshells to the growing pile that had already been dropped on me. Besides which, there was also the question of what kind of information might be lurking around in the 'boon' that had been given to me, since the Eldar, as a collective race, had been around for well over sixty million years before the time of the 41st Millennia. Especially since a fair amount of 40k could have taken at least some amount of inspiration from the demented mind of H.P. Lovecraft himself.

Honestly, I wouldn't have even been _remotely_ surprised if the Hounds of Tindalos, as an example, were wondering around the 40k universe, stalking anyone and everyone who had travelled an interstellar distance through the Warp. And that was without even _touching_ the fact that there were things that lived in the depths of the Warp, things even the Four wouldn't dare touch for all the souls in existence...

Trying not to think too deeply about it, I nodded in thanks for the information, even if I found it soul-searingly horrifying at the possibilities that were unleashed through my mind as a result. Still, mind-wrenching terror aside, there was no reason not to be polite to someone that hadn't done anything wrong and was, now, a member of your family.

"... I see. Thank you for telling me all this, though, I'm going to be honest when I say that I'm still hoping this is some kind of very lucid coma-dream, if only because this feels too surreal for words." I remarked with a slight lift in the corner of my lips, dry humor filling my words as the woman across from me offered a slight, and rather unlady-like, snort of amusement. Returning the smile, she glanced down at the now-cold soup with a smile of her own before looking back at me.

"Fair enough, I suppose. Normal Humans don't really deal well with massive shocks to their world views, especially one as drastic as what you've gone through. Though, I cannot really sympathize with it, since I was created knowing everything related to my creation and what was to happen to me, so the understanding I have is purely intellectual and lacking any first-hand experience or emotional attachment. Still, I apologies for dumping so much on you at once, but I believed it was best that you learn all of this as soon as possible, if only so that you could come to terms with it and move on." My new Sister informed me with a half-shrug, demonstrating her own lack of understanding, or frame of thinking, regarding the sudden shift in world views that could come from what she had previously described. It was brutally honest of her, callous even, but I could definitely appreciate the logic behind it and didn't really hold it against her if it was true that she only had an intellectual understanding of what these revelations could do to the Human psyche.

"Like ripping off a bandage..." I muttered under my breath as my Sister nodded, clearly hearing the words without problem as she went to stand with a slight smirk on her sharp features.

"Something to that effect. Regardless, I'll leave you to your meal and thoughts, since I have given you enough to think about for the time being." A hand snapped out in a gesture towards the bowl of soup as she stood up straight. An instant later, a heat haze seemed to cover the bowl before fading just as quickly as steam starting rising once more from the surface of the red liquid, showing that it had been re-heated. Experimentally, I took a spoonful of the warm liquid and tasted it, finding it pleasantly warm, yet still cool enough not to burn my tongue and scold my throat before I swallowed it entirely. Glancing back to my new Sister, I saw her pull a folder out from an assorted pile of paperwork on the far side of my table that I'd previously ignored. Placing it by the side of my bed, I looked at her curiously as an eyebrow rose in a silent question to her.

"Documentations and information regarding our identities in this new existence that the Being deposited us both in, for you to read when you feel up to it." She answered promptly before turning around after pushing the chair back into the table. "I will be downstairs if you need me; Just call any of my names, and I shall come to answer any further questions you might have."

"Names? Plural?" I asked, noting the specific wording as I turned my gaze back to the retreating back of the woman as she walked out of the room with a liquid grace and sway that spoke of a distinct lack of human limitations or movement patterns. Though, I suppose that wasn't surprising, considering some of the implications of the 'boons' that she had previously mentioned. So the idea of not being completely, or even remotely, Human wasn't really that surprising in the grand scheme of things.

"I, just like you, was gifted with two names upon my creation. One set of names was to be my Human persona when we are out among the masses of Humanity, while the other was to be one shared only between the two of us. Freya Murphy was to be my Human guise, while the other was to be Laerosa, an Aeldari name that would go with your own, which should be present in the folder. Still, if you have any further need of me, do not hesitate to ask." And with that, the now-named woman slipped through the gap in the room and disappeared into the rest of the dwelling beyond the now-closed door. Absently, I noted the utter lack of sound caused by her footsteps and mentally wondered if the earlier sounds she made with every step was purposeful. It probably was, as a way to warn me that I was about to have a guest while I was still trying to get a handle on being so far beyond Human _and_ having all of _this_ dumped on me.

Sighing slightly, I reached down and picked the spoon back up from where I had left it after that first experimental taste of the tomato soup that now rested on a tray in front of me. With deliberate action and purpose, I focused on simply scooping up the red mixture and pouring it down my throat in a slow routine that let me remain fixed in the here and now. It helped, if only to let me think of something beyond the metaphysicals and what-ifs that had plagued my thoughts moments earlier. Admittedly, I'd still need to face such thoughts eventually, but I could put them off for an hour or so.

Especially since I had no intention of letting the warm soup in front of me go to waste.

**XXX**

For the first time in days, as she headed for the basement, Laerosa felt... Content? Happy? Joyful?

She was unsure of the exact word to describe her new mood beyond the fact that it was significantly better than it had originally been upon her arrival to this world, deposited into a dwelling that the Being had arranged for her and her Brother. For eleven days, she had been alone as she learned the lay of the land, prepared some basic supplies, and looked after the still form of her Brother. For those eleven days, he had been unmoving and unresponsive to the world around him, sleeping the sleep of the dead. It was only due to her gifted knowledge and a parting comment from her creator that she had even known that this was meant to happen. An understanding of the Arts showed her the whys that had plagued her thoughts even as she had spent her spare time caring for the unmoving shell of her Brother. Flesh purpose grown for her Brother grew used to the Soul it had been fused with as the Soul, in turn, grew more intermeshed with the Flesh. The Mind unfolded to slowly spread between the interlinked connections between Flesh and Soul until a solid bridge had been formed and reinforced with an existence that had been re-scuplted to fit a new mold.

Indeed, her Brother's soul was originally a Human soul, one that had attracted the attention of a being so far above mortal Gods that it was impossible to comprehend just how massive the difference in power was, but it had still been Human to begin with. A normal Human Soul, thrown into a body such as what her Brother now possessed, would have been driven mad by the uncontrolled sensory input and raw Aether pouring through without the unconscious barriers and Soul-based safeguards to prevent such. Such differences only made it more impressive, as the Being had changed one form of Soul into another without purging it of its previous existence.

It was a feat orders of magnitude more complex than simply creating a new Soul from scratch, such as with her own existence, and spoke of both the skill and power of the Being to do so without any hint of any side effects that could have normally resulted from such operations. Then again, such Arts were long, difficult and treacherous things to attempt, and only carried out by entire Hosts of Masters in their respective Arts. Usually aided by near-literal armies of assistants and mechanisms that served to ease the burden of an already-complex operation that had only been carried out a number of times in Aeldari history. Admittedly, as time had passed, the Aeldari had become more and more proficient with partial Soul-structure conversion, but that was less difficult than creating a new Soul due to not needing as much power or skill to carry out, especially since they were usually minor things piled on top of one another as the millennia went by. Though, such knowledge only served to further Laerosa's amazement at what the Being had done, as the changes were effectively self-governing and self-sustaining as they carried out their assigned duty to elevate her Brother beyond what he had once been.

Unfortunately, even the knowledge of such an ascension could not completely distract her from the teaming masses of lesser beings that constantly surrounded her. Eleven days spent moving through the crowds of unwashed, uneducated and ill-mannered barbarians had thoroughly convinced her of Humanity's foolishness. She had observed them and listened to them as they went about their days, carrying on with their routines and utterly blind to the world around them as they submerged themselves into bubbles of ignorance. In this single city alone, she had seen them debase themselves with crude chemicals in pursuit of some kind of release that would never be granted, some escape that would never succeed. She had seen them fight and squabble over piece-meal sections of the city as though a few square metres of dirt and mud mattered in any manner beyond what they placed on it. She had seen them fighting for ideals and goals, for reputation and face, when they barely even seemed to understand the kind of games they were playing. She watched them amuse themselves as those with power battled between themselves in some rendition of a poorly done play. Whispers of unwritten rules reached her ears, only serving to further highlight the sheer stupidity of Humanity as they seemed to take them at face-value, never considering that things were different outside the immediate view of the wider masses.

Indeed, it had not even taken her a few days to observe the world as a whole, gain an understanding of the current scales of power and the dynamics between each power-block, and learn that they were all doomed to die in ignorance. They were being destroyed from both within and without, from the cancer of their own division and the claws of the Beasts that now stalked their every step. Hungering creatures of crystal and simmering paradoxes that banged on the gates of Human 'civilization', intent only on destruction.

It would have been amusing in the extreme, if it was not so pitiful and downright pathetic.

Still, if nothing else, such a world could still serve a useful purpose. Even with her advanced knowledge, both she and her Brother still required time and practice to grow into their own. These were things that they could get from sparring with one another, but they could also get such from doing battle with the Beasts and 'Monsters' that caused the sheep to cower with every step, that caused them to flinch and hurriedly look over their shoulders at the mere mention of their names. The removal of such pests could only be to their benefit, especially if it meant that the ignorants that surrounded them would keep their distance from both herself and her Brother. Such pitiful beings did not deserve to bask in the presence of those that had cultivated the attention of a Being so far beyond mere Gods that it was not even amusing.

Stepping into the basement and descending the stairs, Laerosa considered that line of thought once more. In truth, it was accurate; She had been created from nothing by such a being while her Brother had caught the attention of such a Being while still in the form of a Human, something that only served to highlight how far beyond such petty creatures he was. That he had successfully sealed a pact between such a Being and himself was only further proof that her Brother was meant for great things.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Laerosa reached out and flipped a switch, letting the primitive lights flicker to life and piercing the veil of shadows that clouded the basement like a thick mist and revealed the contents of the room. Floors covered in padded mats; Racks of training weapons crafted from crude ectoplastics lining the walls; An ad-hoc target range made from crude targets and decorated with an array of ranged weapons; Training stands covered with the marks of repeated use and abuse. These were just some of the things that decorated the once-empty expanse of the room, something that she had worked to fill in the eleven days that her Brother had been sleeping, and where most of her time had been dedicated. When she wasn't out gathering scraps of knowledge from the empty heads of the local population, she was here, training and standing guard over her Brother.

With that thought, Laerosa reached over to one of the weapon racks and pulled one free. Examining the dulled edge of the training weapon, she tested the balance with a few quick movements before nodding as she planted the base of the Impaler shaft on the ground as she retrieved a training equivalent of a Razorflail. Once more, the weapon was tested for balance as she examined the edge for any imperfections that she would need to rework. Finding none, Laerosa quickly removed her socks and trousers to allow her more freedom of movement before advancing on the first training dummy before launching herself into yet another set of combat drills. With her Brother now awake, she had no reason not to increase the intensity of her own training now that he would be joining her. In fact, that was especially because he would be joining her, as she had no wish to show herself as being weak or unable in some manner before her future Beloved.

Her Brother earning the favor of such an almighty Entity, and having her crafted for him was all the proof she needed on the matter to show it to be true. The fact that they were technically siblings meant very little, especially when the redundancies built into their very essence would prevent inbreeding from causing any damage to their potential young. Not to mention that inbreeding was a very Human concept, one that never caught on with the Aeldari due to those very same redundancies, at least before the Fall, anyway.

In such a way, the inhabitants of Brockton Bay would be honored, if only by being there to bear witness to their rise and the return of the Aeldari to their rightful place, in this reality and beyond.

Who knew, they might even give some of them the distinct pleasure of being consorts and servants to their betters. Perhaps even as a band of court jesters? Certainly, there were possibilities in this city alone, especially since Healers and Tailors were always of use.

**XXX**

**AN:** And so, there you have it! The beginning of a new story that I had an idea for, not sure how well it will work out, but it's something I'm willing to experiment with. Feel free to offer constructive feedback and I hope you enjoy the next chapter when, or if, it comes.


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